Browsing: Get Inspired

Why is it so hard for white people to talk about racism? It is a question posed by the white academic Robin DiAngelo, whose book White Fragility has now spent seven months hovering at the top end of the New York Times bestseller list and has just been published in the UK. “The problem with white people,” she says, “is that they just don’t listen. In my experience, day in and day out, most white people are absolutely not receptive to finding out their impact on other people. There is a refusal to know or see, or to listen or…

Refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance by students and forcing the students to do it by teachers is turning to a crucial crises. Should a social justice filmmaker study this matter in a fiction or documentary? The latest episode from this crises was in the news today, February 18, 2019. Let’s have a look at what happened: ” A Florida student is facing misdemeanor charges after a confrontation with a teacher that began with his refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and escalated into what officials described as disruptive behavior. The student, a sixth-grader at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy…

Raleigh N.C. – A new, diverse coalition of 15 local, state and national groups today launched what they called a vigorous statewide campaign to end Duke Energy’s monopoly control of North Carolina’s energy markets and public officials, saying the corporation is harming communities, gouging consumers and making climate change worse. It’s a rare citizen-led effort organized to break up the monopoly control of a U.S. corporate utility. The campaign, called Energy Justice NC: End the Duke Monopoly, promotes common sense energy policies that shift the state to a more affordable, safer and secure electric system. The coalition says those policies create local…

SAXAPAHAW — The organizer behind the third annual Freedom Talks Black History Month panel, held Sunday Feb. 10, at the Haw River Ballroom, said she was pleased with the turnout and the talk. “They brought out some issues that have been in the hearts and minds of Alamance County,” said the Rev. Tamara Kersey, pastor at Maxwell Chapel AME Church. “ICE and the issues of race, white privilege and voting.” The church and the Saxapahaw Black History Month Planning Committee hosted the talk this year, Kersey said, and brought together a panel including a political figure, Erica McAdoo, who narrowly…

Civil rights activist Ayanna Najuma has a conversational platform on social justice called What Lies Between Us. Every other week, she meets at a local bookstore with people interested in sharing their thoughts on social justice issues based on the books they’ve read. “When people have knowledge, they can take action. A lot of people said they didn’t realize their own biases until they read the book,” Najuma said of last week’s book — “How to be Less Stupid About Race,” by Crystal M. Fleming. “They started looking at their own lives about how they deal with sterotypes.” She said…

Marcus Books, the nation’s oldest Black bookstore, first opened its doors in San Francisco in 1960. Tucked away in the back of a print shop, the store originally was called Success Book Store and was often visited by icons such as Malcolm X, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison and Oprah Winfrey. The store has long been considered a symbol for the community and continues to be an invaluable resource to Oakland and the Bay Area. Almost two decades after the store’s first iteration, the original owners, Julian and Raye Richardson, opened up shop in Oakland. The store thrived for many years…

As the Medicare for All week of action ramps up Feb. 9–13, with 150 “barnstorm” organizing events across the U.S., meet some of the young people who are leading the fight for Medicare for All. (And click here to find the date and time of your local barnstorm!) Briana Moss, 30, grew up in Dyersville, Iowa, site of the “field of dreams” (from the 1989 movie). Despite the reputation of her hometown, her own life dreams feel on hold. At age 30, when many young people are getting their careers off the ground, Moss’ life choices are guided by one thing: the need for…

Members of the NAACP’s Pitt County branch and other civil rights advocates are taking their call to free a man who they say was wrongly convicted to today’s Moral March in Raleigh. The 13th annual Historic Thousands on Jones People’s Assembly, also called the Moral March, is promoting the theme of “No Time to Stand Down: We Must Stand Strong & Endure.” For Pitt County branch President Calvin Henderson, that means keeping Dontae Sharpe’s story in the forefront. “A young black male was wrongfully sentence by Pitt County judicial system and has been in prison,” Henderson said. “The Pitt County…

As a black executive raising two biracial sons, issues of social justice and equality are a personal passion of mine. Growing up in Chicago, I experienced firsthand the effects of inequality in a public school system, a system that didn’t care, a system that showed a lack of support for both those struggling with addiction and for their families, and a system that led young black men more easily into incarceration than into college. Many of us have lived complicated lives and have not given up hope. I, too, choose to stay engaged in the fight to ensure all families…

Bridging The Border Award

At a time when physical, religious, racial, cultural, and economic borders divide the population of our planet, efforts to bridge those borders should be appreciated. In that spirit, Cinema Without Borders presents Bridging the Borders Award to the films that are most successful in bridging and connecting the people of

CineEqual

CinéEqual represents filmmakers, institutions, and community members with a focus on social justice cinema. As an integrated unit of CWB, it promotes a diverse, inclusive, and equitable democratic society that values the worth of all humans. The purpose is to educate our audience about concepts, theories, and methods related to social justice and to integrate ethical practices for solving social inequities through our online networks and resources. From studio productions like To Kill a Mockingbird to low budget films like Hotel Rwanda, I am not Your Negro, cinema has a venerable record of putting the spotlight on social injustice.

About

Cinema Without Borders is dedicated to the international and independent cinema and it helps to introduce new faces and talents outside any borders and its goal is to create international communities of filmmakers and film students.